A Guide to Starting the Process of Selling Your Home
There are some things that don’t change when selling a home, regardless of the current housing market or even the economy. It’s these things that provide the starting point to selling quickly and getting the best price for your home.
Use these tips as a guide to starting the process of selling your home, and you’ll be well on your way to a positive selling experience!
Picture Quality is a Must
Home buyers make their first decision about a home for sale before they’ve even stepped inside the door. Because of the internet playing such a large role in the house-hunting process, it’s important to make sure that the pictures your agent provides of your home show it at its best.
Starting with the exterior of the home, the pictures should give buyers a sense of what it would feel like to actually be standing in front of the home. Curb appeal is just as important in the pictures as it is in person. The interior pictures should highlight the home’s features and give buyers a reason to want to see more.
Curb Appeal
Landscaping should be neat and lush, weed-free, and colorful. Depending on the season you are putting your home on the market, it will change the way you address the issue of curb appeal. For example, in the Spring and Summer months, the landscaping should be tended to daily, as weeds have a way of creeping up quickly.
While Richmond Hill‘s climate lends itself to relatively snow free Winter, if it happens, make sure to remove it from your driveway and sidewalks. Don’t forget about the front door when it comes to curb appeal. The front door should be just as welcoming as the landscaping and the interior of the home.
Bonus! Bill Gassett (Ma Realtor) put together this extensive collection of home-selling tips for all seasons.
Give Buyers What They Want
Most millennial home buyers fall into the category of wanting to find a home that is in move-in condition, complete with an up-to-date kitchen, living area, and bathrooms. A kitchen or bathroom that doesn’t measure up can be a huge turn-off for most buyers, leaving your home to sit on the market longer than planned. Buyers may be more inclined to offer closer to the asking price if some of the bigger ticket items are already taken care of.
Use a Real Estate Agent
It has become increasingly popular to think you can sell a home on your own, being able to eliminate paying an agent commissions on the sale of the property. There are many downfalls to this option, which is why most people who try to sell on their own end up turning to a Realtor anyway.
A Realtor will be with you every step of the way in the process of selling, from pricing your home correctly to negotiating an offered price, to signing on the dotted line.
Learn more about why sellers need to hire a real estate agent from Georgia Realtor, Anita Clark.
The Counter-offer
Many home sellers fall into the trap of accepting the first price offered just to make the sale. A seller who is excited to get an offer on a home in a slow market, but feels the offer is below value should make a counteroffer. While the buyer may not accept the counter-offer, they may make another offer that is more reasonable and closer to the asking price.
This also brings another important point to mind – a seller shouldn’t provide too much information about the need to sell their home because it could be mistaken for desperation by the buyer, giving them the “ok” to make a lower offer.
Final Thoughts
From hiring an experienced real estate agent to maintaining the exterior to providing buyers with what they want on the inside, you’ll position your home to sell quickly and for the best price!
More Home Selling Resources
- Why Picking The Right Real Estate Agent is Critical – Bill Gassett (MA Realtor)
- 3 Keys to Selling a Home – Tori Toth Home Staging
- How Can I Sell My Home Fast? – Lynn Pineda
- House Not Selling? Try These Tips – Teresa Cowart
